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TITLE: WAFF airs GM crop handling concerns
SOURCE: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s785969.htm
DATE: Feb 17, 2003
------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------
WAFF airs GM crop handling concerns
The Western Australian Farmers Federation (WAFF) says grain handling
systems in Australia are not ready to handle genetically modified (GM)
material. The comments follow a revelation that imported US corn, some of
it GM, spilled into a storage of Australian wheat destined for export
last week. The wheat's owner, AWB Limited, says it is satisfied all
traces of the GM corn were removed from the shipment, although anti-GM
groups have expressed outrage. WAFF president Colin Nichol says while he
acknowledges there are risks, he still supports ongoing research into the
technology. "That should extend down to how we handle them, but all this
needs to be done under very strict supervision so that we do not get any
risk of cross-contamination, either through the storage systems or out in
the fields where the trials are being conducted," he said.